Apostle Islands National Shoreline , Wisconsin -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- For thousands of years , waves on the largest of the Great Lakes have battered northwest Wisconsin , shaping the dramatic sandstone caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore .

But that punishment halted this winter when 93 % of Lake Superior froze , creating a spectacular icy landscape many locals say they have n't seen in a generation .

It 's a serendipitous spinoff from the five Great Lakes being virtually frozen over this winter , a rare event that marks the arctic misery afflicting the Midwest . At one point , more than 90 % of the world 's largest surface freshwater system was frozen over , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said . That figure for the Great Lakes fell to 84 % as of Wednesday .

The massive freeze , however , has created natural wonders .

Bob Krumenaker , the National Park Service 's superintendent at Lakeshore , said there have been thousands of additional visitors flocking to ice caves .

`` The caves form almost the same kind of features that you 'd find in an underground limestone cave -- the soda straws , the curtains , the stalactites -- but they 're all forming out of ice in just days and weeks instead of something that would form underground in limestone over hundreds of thousands of years , '' he said .

This season has easily been the busiest in terms of visitors : In the past two months , more than 120,000 people have made the roughly three-mile round-trip trek by foot over a frozen Lake Superior to see the ice formations and caves that will melt away in just a few weeks .

Debbie Stumpf was one of the intrepid visitors Wednesday .

She likened the experience to `` walking into a hall of gods . ''

`` How many chances do you have to lay on your back and look up at icicles ? '' she said .

The journey to the caves is a big part of the experience .

`` I like that we have to walk so far out to get here . We 've seen some really unique people out here , '' she said .

Visitors have hailed from all over the world this winter , including China , Japan , Australia and Hungary , Krumenaker said . They all helped make this year the busiest in the history of the park , which received National Lakeshore status under the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1970 .

CNN 's Michael Martinez contributed to this report .

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The ice caves are spectacular this winter at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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The freezing of the Great Lakes has created a natural wonder

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More than 120,000 people walk three miles round-trip over a frozen Lake Superior

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The caves are like `` walking into a hall of gods , '' visitor says